


Ghosts, Ghouls, and Quests - Oh My!

by EtherealNyx



Series: Pre-Game Galar Works [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Nonbinary Character, Not Canon Compliant, just in case! let’s tag it, not really angst wise but it made my friend sad so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-27 04:02:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19782847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EtherealNyx/pseuds/EtherealNyx
Summary: Allister needs a support Pokémon. Bea just wants her sibling to be safe. What happens next will shock you - not clickbait!In which starting on the road to recovery can happen in anywhere, even abandoned hotels...





	Ghosts, Ghouls, and Quests - Oh My!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Welcome!
> 
> This is part of my (and some friends) personal initiative to write more Sword and Shield fics that are wholesome and fun for anyone to read. 
> 
> Due to the revelation that Galar’s two games have gym leaders varying on the version, I officially have two universes for the region: Swordverse and Shieldverse.
> 
> To understand this, let me just say that I headcanon Bea and Allister as siblings. Obviously, this isn’t canon compliant, so don’t take it as such. 
> 
> Swordverse is where Bea takes over their family gym so Allister can get mental health help. Shieldverse, meanwhile, has Allister taking over due to Bea contracting an illness. This one is set in Swordverse.
> 
> Ready? Okay! Let’s go. 
> 
> (And, if you want to talk more about this afterwards, please feel free to talk to me at my Tumblr, bi-hop.)

_Obtaining_ _an officially certified support Pokémon is an expensive venture. Most agencies charge more than the average person can afford. It is infinitely cheaper to catch your ideal support Pokémon on your own before sending it in for training…_

 _-_ an excerpt from _Pokémon and You: A Guide to Mental Healing and Disability Accommodation_

-

_Ghost Pokémon are drawn to abandoned buildings and graveyards, as well as shaded areas. Places full of memory and grief attract them like Mothim are to flame. Said places are dangerous to explore alone, but the benefits of catching one can outweigh the risks…_

\- an excerpt from _I Ain’t ‘Fraid of No Ghosts_

* * *

“Do you want my honest opinion?”

 _Not really._ Allister thought quickly, an undercurrent of bitterness lurking in their stream of thought. “Sure.” They said instead, pushing their mask up a little more to shovel another spoonful of soup into their mouth. 

Bea stared at them from across the table. “S’not safe to go, y’know.” If you didn’t know her, you’d assume she was irritated. Her face was set into a nigh permanent frown. But they did know her, and all Allister registered was her deep concern.

They shrugged. “I know.” Honestly, it was a little bit insulting for her to act like they didn’t. “But I’ll have my Rotom phone with me and I’ll be careful!”

Her eye twitched. More worry then. Allister sighed internally at the sight; Bea was what more people should look to for an example of an overprotective sister. “Don’t you trust me?” They pleaded.

“Of course I trust you, Allister.” Just as expected, she relented immediately. “You’re very capable. I just don’t want you to get hurt while looking for something to help you. That’d be stupid. And we ain’t stupid in this house, are we?”

Allister flashed a quick smile, mask even more askew. “Yeah, we ain’t that at all.” They agreed easily. Success!

Her frown took on a touch of fondness. “Good. Now, eat your soup before I eat it for you.”

Quickly, they inhaled even more of the meal. Allister doubted Bea would ever make good on her threats, but ‘better safe than sorry’ was the rule of law in this house too.

* * *

In the end, they argued about the matter 3 more times before Allister was allowed to visit the abandoned hotel. Being the person she was, Bea insisted on accompanying them up to a certain point, but even her nerves of steel were no match for Ghost types.

“My bad.” She ruffled their hair with an air of pensiveness. “You know your type charts though, yeah? Can’t punch spirits.”

Allister adjusted their mask. “Uh huh. It’s okay, sis. Rotom will protect me!” They reassured her. “You can go home and relax.”

“As if I would.” She scoffed, not once changing her tone. “I’ll be ‘round in an hour. Call me if you need me.”

“Okay.” The concession flew easily from their lips. It was a small price to pay for the first of (hopefully) many chances.

Her face twinged. “I love you, Allister.” She said. It was the most earnest thing Bea could and would say. No person was always sincere, but whenever those words escaped her, it shone with a brilliant honesty that came from the heart.

Their own heart softened. “I love you too.” It was quieter, but the feeling was the same. It always was.

They nodded and left each other’s side.

* * *

_Ghost types are ill-advised as support Pokémon if the circumstances are not ideal for them. They are not suited towards the task of being mobility aids, and their temperaments can easily garner frustration within a person. They best function when placed with those who often feel anxious or depressed, having found a niche where they can provide their special brand of comfort while gaining an easy meal…_

\- an excerpt from _Pokémon and You: A Guide to Mental Healing and Disability Accommodation_

-

_Ghosts can smell fear._

_Well, more specifically, they’re quite good at sensing emotions, and most species lean towards the negative end of the spectrum. Sorrow, jealousy, terror… All of these can (and do!) feature heavily in many a Ghost’s diet. Some even say that it only takes especially strong feelings to draw them to your side…_

\- an excerpt from _I Ain’t ‘Fraid of No Ghosts_

-

_A lonely Pokémon, it conceals its terrifying appearance beneath an old rag so it can get closer to people and other Pokémon._

\- an Alolan Rotomdex’s assessment of Mimikyu, the Disguise Pokémon

* * *

People were used to telling stories about empty places. Allister suspected that it was tied to the fear of the unknown.

Abandoned places had history. They used to be loved, enjoyed, frequented, and there was a clear division between its past and present. Could they be reclaimed by man? Absolutely. Were they? Not always.

People looked at these testaments of human life and felt repulsed by them. They saw ghosts in their halls, wove narratives of somewhat true tragedies, all the while turning a blind eye to the fact that their own personal spaces could one day fulfill the same purpose for other generations.

“Does that sound any good?”

“Bzzt! It’zzzz a _bit_ over the top!”

“Oh, forget it!” Allister huffed. “What do _you_ know anyway?”

“Well, I know a lot of things!” The Rotom phone buzzed and popped with oblivious pride. “Like about other types.”

The low blow stung more than it reasonably should have. “That ain’t special.” They shot back stubbornly. “I know about other types too! Hitmontop-”

Rotom’s face turned dangerously smug on the screen. “That’s still a Fighting type, bzzt! Like sister, like sibling, huh?” 

“... Whatever.” 

Despite their annoyance, they tried not to fume over it. Who knew what could be lurking in the shadows? Like it or not, they were infringing on a natural habitat; it would only be their own fault if they got attacked for being angry over the words of a Rotom.

“There are a few, bzzzt, Gastly in here!” Rotom piped up sans prompting. “Do they suit your tastes?”

Allister shook their head, even as a chill ran down their spine. “Not right now. Maybe another time. They ain’t serious enough for what I have in mind.” On a whole, they loved any and every Ghost type, but the Gastly line was more useful for battlers. They didn’t think they’d ever grow to the point where that was an achievable goal.

As they continued to shuffle along the old carpet, a lump formed in their throat. What if they were wrong? What if the Pokémon they longed for was still out of reach?

“45 minutezzz left.”

They frowned down at the phone. “Got it.” An hour wasn’t _nearly_ enough time.

* * *

_ Mimikyu’s health fails when it’s bathed in the rays of the sun, so it prefers to stick to dark places. It’s rumored that the reason it covers itself with a cloth is to avoid sunlight. _ __  
__  
_ The rising popularity of Pikachu-styled merchandise around 20 years ago is the reason that Mimikyu makes itself look like Pikachu. In fact, this Pokémon is dreadfully lonely, and it thought it would be able to make friends with humans if only it looked like Pikachu. _ __  


\- an excerpt from an unpublished Alolan paper on Mimikyu and their behavior

* * *

“Oh, Rotom…” Allister sighed despondently, sitting down on a chair with a flourish. A cloud of dust swirled up around the two of them. “I don’t think I’ll ever find what I’m looking for.”

Its face appeared in a flash of light, concern evident in the expression it took on. “Don’t lose hope yet, chum. Big Sis’ll help you out again, won’t she? Bzzt! Bea-lieve it!”

“No, I really won’t.” They stared down at the Dusk Ball they clutched so carefully in their left hand. “I h-haven’t got a hope in the world o-o-of finding a Mimikyu…” Without meaning to, their eyes spilled over with tears.

“We have 10 minutezzz, lil onion. No time to cry now!” Rotom tried to sound comforting, but it was hardly meant for such a task. As a species, they were prone to chaos; even the better behaved ones had no real concept of appropriate sympathetic displays. 

“D-Don’t call me that!” Allister wailed. Unnerved, all of the Gastly in the area floated off to other rooms.

They cried and cried. Rotom kept offering worse and worse snippets of advice. Even the most curious Gastly were beginning to feel sorry for the child. Would they ever quit with their sobbing? Could anything stem the flow of tears? And what kind of child sat around in abandoned hotels anyway? These were all valid, rhetorical, and completely unnecessary questions, but they could be forgiven for that; they had no clue that something else was waiting too.

“Kyu?” A cold hand nudged their ankle. 

Rotom and Allister froze.

“ _ Kyu _ ?” There came the rustle of cloth. There came the chill of soft claws brushing against flesh. There came a small being, born from darkness itself.

The young child lifted off their disguise. The Mimikyu thankfully did not do the same. “Do… Do you want to come with m-me?”

“Mimikyu!” It exclaimed, clearly delighted.

Allister grinned a watery smile. “ _ Thank Zacien _ .”

And who knows? Maybe, somehow, the wolf god heard their gratitude.

* * *

**Bonus: A Concluding Footnote**

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Bea said the moment she saw them. The reddened look to their eyes made her heart ache, but the fact that she could  _ see  _ their face to begin with helped alleviate her worry a tad bit. But only just a tad.

“Y-Yeah!” They said with a hiccup. “I did!” 

Unable to help herself, she pulled them into a tight hug. “Good. Do you want me to cook dinner tonight?” She didn’t have the words to express how happy she was for her sibling. In her professional opinion, a meal could always say more than her mouth. 

Small arms wrapped around her. “S-Sure. Can I have soup?”

“You’ll get as much soup as you want, Al.” Bea smiled softly down at them. “Promise.”

They pulled away, brushing their tiny fingers against hers. Her hand pursued theirs, holding it close.  _ They’re so cold.  _ She thought.  _ I oughta address their poor circulation sometime. Not tonight though. It can wait. _

“Ready?”

“Yup.”

Together again, side by side, the two siblings walked off into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> \- Some of the text in the fic is taken directly from Mimikyu’s official Pokédex entries and the Pokémon Sun and Moon official website. It’s pretty obvious where the Pokédex entries come in, but the latter comes in during the ‘unpublished Alolan report’. 
> 
> \- In the Japanese trailer, Allister releases their Mimikyu from a Dusk Ball, hence the detail I put into describing that.
> 
> \- If you didn’t know, Galar uses Rotom phones.
> 
> \- ‘lil onion’ is a nickname for Allister because their names in other languages are based on onions. 
> 
> \- I hc Allister as nonbinary and use they/them pronouns. 
> 
> \- Personally, I feel most regions view their legendaries as gods and/or mythical figures, and that the most common ones depend on region.
> 
> I... think that covers all of it? Thanks for reading!!!


End file.
